I stumbled upon this site about 18 months ago and have been reading ever since.
When I heard about Jonathan’s diagnosis, it really got me thinking about how I could contribute. The thing is, I’m based in the UK, and I was a bit hesitant at first because I know Humble Dollar primarily focuses on US personal finance – especially with all the ins and outs of US pension planning.
But I decided to post  a few essays on some more general financial topics,

When Rachel and I got married, I was already in my 60s. After our wedding, my sister said to Rachel, “You take good care of my brother.” My cousin Barb told her husband, Kent, “I don’t know what would have happened to Dennis if he had never met Rachel.”
I got the impression they didn’t think I could take care of myself in retirement — that it would be too difficult to go it alone. I get it.

Around the world there are a vast number of ways that countries seek to provide financial support to its retirees. I certainly won’t profess to being an expert in any, including my home of Australia, but I thought it might be interesting to give some insight into how our superannuation scheme works, along with some of my thoughts.
Back in 1974, around 32% of Australians had access to retirement funds via a range of pension schemes.

As much as I hate to admit it and exercise regular self-denial, I am old. All the signs are there, my date of birth for one, right in the middle of WWII. There are maybe ten of us born in 1943. Actually 2.9 million of which about 50% can still read HD.
I take the occasional nap-unintentionally though. I bother people by engaging in conversation and telling stories, my grandchildren call me Pa. Actually nowadays my children do as well. 

There have been several posts and commentary in recent months about potential changes to social security, the consequences of the removal of the Windfall Elimination Provision, anticipated issues because of the President and DOGE, etc.
I posted on May 21 that my spouse was going to schedule an appointment with the nearby social security office and file. (There are 14 in this state, and our area population is about 1.2 million). Here is how it went.

Someone on HD asked if my inflation adjusted retirement income today still equaled my base salary when I retired. 
The answer is a resounding no. For every dollar of base pay in 2009 I would need $1.50 today. Since my pension does not have a COLA, any automatic adjustment is up to Social Security, but that is less than a quarter of our income. 
So, now I am 50% behind – no panic yet, but I am glad I didn’t start out say,

A recent paper published by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research examined changes in the SS claiming age since 1985, and more recently during the Covid pandemic. The study shows that there has been a fairly dramatic decline in the percentage of those people claiming at 62 in the 20 years leading up to Covid, and that trend has remained steady since then. The study also shows that the average claiming age has increased by about 2 years.

This floated across my screen a couple of days ago.
Bill Bengen introduced the 4% rule in 1994.  It suggested that a one may safely withdraw 4% from a portfolio in the first year of retirement and it would be likely that portfolio would last for 30 years.
Bengen is publishing a new book A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More
In it he updates the rule but also provides a 55/45 model portfolio. 

We have discussed many times when to start Social Security and pretty much concluded the decision is personal and need based. I don’t have a problem with any of that, but what bugs me is concern over breaking even considering amount received and years of benefits.
It seems to me the monthly benefit, the income when needed most is all that matters. Since I once again find myself in the minority, I asked a neutral party,

I’m going to be 74 next month, and I’m beginning to realize that the little things in life are starting to frighten me more. If I were younger, they probably never would have crossed my mind.
When I walk, I’m constantly scanning the ground for hazards. A raised sidewalk or uneven pavement could send me tumbling—and at my age, I’m not sure my bones would hold up to the fall.
Every night before I lie down,

Here I sit on my deck, the blue sky is cloudless. It is 74 degrees, no wind and quiet except for the birds making their views known. My view of anything beyond 50 feet is blocked by thickly leaved trees.  
Between writing, I read commentary about tariffs, trade, economies on Project-Syndicate, a daily updated compilation of articles from scores of international writers. I’m also reading about the Salem witch trials and Ben Franklin’s rise to fame and testimony before Parliament about taxing the colonies –

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
When I last checked in with you we were waiting to move to California to be closer to our, now, 18-month granddaughter. I shared the wisdom I had gotten from a six-day silent retreat. As Paul Harvey used to say, “now for the rest of the story”.

I hear about this topic on YouTube retirement videos. It has also been a topic on HD from time to time. We all know about the process of preparing financially for retirement, but it seems that for many people facing a retirement lifestyle is equally challenging.
Honestly, I can’t relate. I never thought about what retirement living would be like. I had no expectations. Perhaps taking phased retirement for 18 months was a factor, but even when I decided on doing that it wasn’t with a plan to prepare for retirement,

Throughout my working years, one thing that disturbed me greatly was the lack of concern even disregard shown by many workers for a spouse, especially a surviving spouse and nearly always a woman.
I remember the “good old days” when the husband’s earnings were his money, his pension was his pension. I remember when workers hid their overtime pay from the wife and when they elected a single life annuity pension because only they earned it,

On my blog today I have a piece on a radical and very disturbing proposal from the CBO to change Social Security. The story originally appeared on MarketWatch.
There is a tinge of politics, so I am not posting it directly, but if Social Security is a concern, you might want to take a look on Quinnscommentary.net
The link goes directly to the article